Frame by Frame
by CSIGurlie07
Summary: Life is a game. It's all in how you play. [Three-shot]
1. Chapter 1

Will didn't get it. It wasn't just that the glamorous Helen Magnus looked out of place in the grungy bowling alley Ashley had dragged them to—which she unequivocally did. A thin layer of grease coated every surface in the joint, and though Magnus had pulled on an uncharacteristically casual pair of denim jeans, she couldn't hide the innate high-class glamour that just oozed from her. No, what surprised Will the most was that bullets-and-leather Magnus couldn't strike a pin to save her life.

"Woo-hoo!" A whoop lifted from the next lane over. Will thought Ashley looked a bit more at home, with frayed cut off shorts and a slouching t-shirt. Her fists pumped in triumph at yet another cleared lane. She'd been knocking pins left and right all night, leading the board with every game.

Henry and Will had been battling for second place, but Magnus had sunk to fourth place on the first throw and stayed there. Right now she trailed with a measly 46 points in the 7th frame, where Will and Henry had just broken a hundred, and Ashley was edging into the 200s.

"See, _you_ I get," Will told Ashley as she plopped down into the bucket seat beside him. "You're slaughtering us. I'd have thought your mom would too, but…" He waved towards the lane, where Magnus had guttered her second ball.

Ashley watched as her mother paused to observe Henry's flippant toss, and winced in sympathy when the tech scored a 7-10 split. "Yeah… She never really got into bowling." She shrugged. "I don't think she'd ever tried it until Henry and I went for a birthday party once. She tags along when we come out, but it isn't her thing."

Will considered that. He nodded. "But you'd think she'd have picked up a few tricks. I mean, I've seen her learn things just by observing."

"She probably could, if she really wanted to. Mom always says that the fun isn't in the bowling; it's in the people." Ashley elbowed him. "You're up, sucker. Bet you an order of nachos you can't strike it."

"You are so on."

He picked up his bowling ball from where it'd been returned to the ball rack, and slid his fingers into the three holes. The fit was a little loose, but the weight was good. He could do this. He toed the approach, considering his plan of attack. Maybe he could try hooking it. Seemed to work for Ashley, so…

A hand on his shoulder broke his concentration, but the touch slid away before he could say anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Magnus sit next to her daughter, who immediately looped an arm around her mother's waist and wiggled closer for a playful cuddle.

The fun is in the people. Will flushed with contentedness. Finally, he felt like part of the group. He was being allowed to see this, to join in, and it was no small honor, though he doubted any of them saw it that way. He focused on the ten pins at the end of the lane, blinking when they wavered. When his vision cleared, he took three powerful strides then let loose and waited for the tell-tale _thwok _of a strike.

"Hah! Pay up!"


	2. Chapter 2

It had seemed like a good idea a few days ago. After spending seven hours in the bore hole of an old oil rig in the middle of the Caribbean, a night of bowling had seemed like a good, low-key way to decompress. Will had made a point to pick a different bowling alley than the one they'd last gone to. He found one in New City, higher end with plush seating and low lights. It was more intimate, but as they sat waiting for the lane to reset, Will doubted his choice. Magnus wouldn't have agreed to come if she didn't want to, right?

Will sneaked a glance at his companion. His stomach dropped when he saw Magnus' solemn features. Her thoughts weren't with him, in the here and now. They were in the past, centered on a life stolen from her. It didn't feel right, being in an alley without Ashley. Will opened his mouth to suggest grabbing a beer somewhere far elsewhere, but before he could utter a sound Henry found them.

"Hey, sorry I'm late guys. I got lost in traffic—next time I'm definitely going to ride with you guys. I'm glad we decided to do this. It's been way too long! I'm going to go find a ball."

A hand on Will's wrist kept him from stopping the HAP. Will met Magnus' gaze, and accepted the small shake of the head she gave him. "It's all right, Will," she said softly. "He's right. It's good that we're doing this."

"Really?" he countered. "This is supposed to be about lifting your spirits."

Magnus' head bowed, her façade slipping for the first time since they'd been airlifted. Without her shields, there was nothing left but the deep sorrow of an orphaned parent. "I don't think that's going to happen for a while yet."

Henry returned with two bowling balls, one of which was the weight Magnus preferred. He handed it over and she accepted it readily, her mask back in place. She hit the lane first, and no one was surprised when it hit the gutter in the first three feet. Magnus watched the ball until it disappeared into the lane's gaping maw. She turned, her lips cocked in a self-deprecating grin.

A tiny twitch of her shoulders followed, and when she guttered her second roll, she plopped down in her seat like nothing was out of the ordinary. They played until their arms got tired. Neither Will nor Henry said anything when they saw the tears sparkling in Magnus' eyes when she thought they weren't looking. If she noticed that they made an effort to keep one of them with her while the other was bowling, she didn't mention it. The game continued.


	3. Chapter 3

Pale sunlight filtered from the high cavern roof over Will's head. He knew only a small part of the ceiling allowed direct sunlight; the rest of the expansive space was lit through a cunning use of conductive quartz-like crystal. Will didn't fully understand how it all worked. He only cared that he was here at all in Hollow Earth, in the truest Sanctuary Magnus had ever created. Her asylum was only home to a select few; the rest were assimilated into the hundreds of miles of tunnels that comprised the remainder of the Hollow Earth network. This structure had been designed by Magnus to service as her place of business, and its inhabitants were either her closest friends and colleagues, or her patients of highest risk.

This place was home in a way Old City never was. Magnus had carved a niche for herself in the criminal underground, and in the loopholes of the system. She'd made herself an integral part of that world but she had adapted to fit in there. Here, the world had been molded to fit her. She'd used the brightest minds in the past century to craft her new home, and within it she had blossomed.

There were some things Will missed, though. One was doorknobs. Everything here was the height of Hollow Earth technology, including motion-activated doors, and locks keyed to DNA. That is, if anyone ever wanted to lock their door. As of yet, Will hadn't felt the need to, and neither had Henry or the Big Guy. But on those days when he forgot where he was and reached for a handle that wasn't there, it sometimes left him feeling off-balance the whole rest of the day.

Pastimes was another thing he missed. For all the advanced technology the new Sanctuary boasted, televisions were lacking, and while Henry promised he'd get the video library hooked up to the computer network, Will wasn't holding his breath. Books waited in his room, but today he was antsy. He needed to do something else—he just didn't know what. Maybe the Big Guy still had his old soccer ball laying around somewhere…

He found the former manservant in a small niche garden behind the medical bays. The new Sanctuary was rife with the small spots of nature, but this one was rockier than most. Where the others were padded with thick moss, this garden seemed to edge up right onto the cave floor itself. It only took Will a second to realize what Biggie had been up to.

"Oh, no way… That is so cool, man." The lane was narrow, but serviceable, and a battered ten-set of skinny pins stood at the far end. Biggie came around to stand next to him, and together they surveyed his work. "It's a thing of beauty, my friend."

"I know," came the pleased growl. "You get the doc. I'll get Henry."

"Deal."

There were only a few places that Will knew of where Magnus was likely to be. The first was her study, the second the main med lab. And though she had yet to admit it, Will knew she liked to visit the hot springs down in the lower levels. She wasn't in any of those places. He eschewed the dining areas and the libraries, and instead skirted the outer perimeter. From there, it didn't take long to find her.

The space was really its own sub-cavern adjacent to the main area of the Sanctuary. It was nearly silent, the quiet disturbed only by the soothing sounds of the water that poured down the rocky wall in the back. Vines draped from the tunnel roof, blinding Will despite the light that shone as uniformly as it did over the main Sanctuary. He moved to sweep the leafy tendrils aside, but paused when he heard a very un-Magnus voice from deep within.

Will instantly recognized Tesla's voice, though the words spoken lacked its customarily snide tone. The voice that answered was Magnus'. Will carefully edged a single strand of lichen aside to peek into the garden. It was just the two of them standing there. Nikola's arm was wrapped around Magnus' waist, and she'd laid her hand on his chest, as if a moment ago they'd been dancing.

Whatever Tesla said, it made Magnus smile. She beamed, her lips spread wide, eyes sparkling with unrestrained mirth. There were no shields, no walls around her. In this moment, Helen let herself shine through at last, and Nikola greeted her with a kiss.

Taking a silent step backwards, Will let the vines close on the intimate scene. He made his way back to the others without saying a word. When both Biggie and Henry stared at him expectantly, he shook his head. "Just us this time, guys."

Henry seemed disappointed for a split second, before he turned to the fun at hand. But the Big Guy stared at Will for a long moment. Maybe he saw the scene playing out against the back of Will's eyes, where Will knew it would replay again and again. Or maybe the empathetic manservant simply registered the flutter of happiness Will felt. Even though he shouldn't have seen what he saw—he was glad that he did.

The enclave echoed with a solid _thwok_, and the clatter of wooden pins rolling over stone.

"Yeah! Strike!"


End file.
